Incompatible
by Blazing Sceptile
Summary: Eventual Firegrassshipping, or SceptilexBlaziken. Two years after a certain incident caused them to break up, they meet again, and soon discover that what each thought as the truth was only one side of the story.
1. Memories

_For all those who are wondering, this is my second chaptered fic. It's going to be eventual Firegrassshipping, or Ash's Sceptile and May's Blaziken, with a few other minor pairings. Oh, and POVs will make their return in this fic, and just assume for this fic only that Pokemon who can't breed with each other can, but the survival rate of the child is very low. _

**Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon. Are we absolutely clear on that point?**

* * *

**Chapter 1: Memories**

_Blaziken's POV_

One year, three hundred and sixty four and one quarter days. It's amazing how many things can happen during that period of time. I've fought many opponents, both in Pokemon Contests and the occasional challenge from a trainer, despite the fact that he or she probably knows very well that May's a Coordinator, and one who just won the Grand Festival a few days ago. Ah, it felt good to Blaze Kick that arrogant green-haired rose-giving boy's Roselia. It's a pity that was a rare luxury.

I stared up into the sky, my hands behind my head even as I continued to think. I knew that May was going to visit Pallet Town, since she knew that the Sinnoh League was also over and that Ash would probably be heading back there. If I didn't know better, I'd swear on my fighting abilities that those two were dating.

Rising to my feet, I began punching and kicking imaginary targets to keep my reflexes and my skills razor-sharp, a habit I developed when May went to Johto. Thoughts of Ash had led me to think of his Pokemon, and Grass-Type Pokemon in particular. I stopped mid-swing, shaking my head even as I panted slightly. Even after a year, the pain still hadn't gone away. Although my new habit helped me cope with the pain somewhat, it still was rather fresh in my mind.

Before I could stop myself, I slammed my still-clenched fist into the nearest tree, which happened to be just within punching distance. If it wasn't, I might have avoided the jolt of pain which shot up the nerves of my right hand, but it was within my fist's reach, and I flicked my wrist a few times in order to reduce the pain. Even as I brought my favored hand on the battlefield closer to inspect my self-inflicted, and hopefully minor, injury, I couldn't help but think of reasons as to why I would lose my self-control like that. That incident must have affected me in more ways than I thought. Fortunately, the injury was nothing more than a bruise or two. I unclenched my fist, before contemplating on what to do next.

"Morning, Blaziken. You're up early, as always."

"Morning, Veno." I replied, recognizing her from her voice. "You're up late. I thought you would prefer to catch the sun's rays bright and early?"

"Munchlax kept me up all night with his snoring. I swear, he has the marks of a great Snorlax, if you'd consider the amount of noise he makes. I had to sleep in the freaking courtyard just to avoid it. Looks like May letting us sleep outside of our Pokeballs was a double-edged sword."

"Is that so? I slept in a tree." I said, turning around to face her.

"Just like him, eh?" She teased.

"Shut up. I don't want to talk about him." I said rather brusquely. Venosaur's face softened a little.

"You still haven't gotten over him, have you?"

"Look, I really don't want to talk about anything concerning that subject, and especially _not_ about what happened two years back."

She sighed. "If you don't wanna talk about it, that's alright with me. We should get back, though. May's going to wake up soon."

I nodded, before following her back. Even as we walked, my thoughts kept wondering back to him, but I dispelled them and concentrated on picking my way though the woods.

* * *

_Sceptile's POV_

Great. Ash just won the Sinnoh League. That's the news I heard anyway from that assistant of Professor Oak's, Tracey if I recall. I know I should be happy for him, and I am, but that's simply gonna add to his ego. Hoo-ray. Just what everyone needed.

I removed my twig from my mouth, twirled it around once and returned it to its usual spot. Life here in Professor Oak's ranch was boring at best, but the occasional sparring match with random trainers or with some of Ash's Pokemon kept me entertained.

"Sceptile! Get down from that tree branch already! Seriously, you should socialize more."

I snorted, even as my gaze turned towards the ground. "Says the guy who keeps falling asleep during battles, Quilava."

"That was when I was still a Cyndaquil! Things are different now!"

"The more things change, the more they stay the same." I replied, before jumping down from the branch.

"He's right, you know. Who knows when you'll fall asleep again." Bayleef, who was beside Quilava all this time, spoke. Having just evolved a week ago, the usually reserved Volcano Pokemon had barely summoned up the courage necessary to tell her how he felt towards her, and was quite surprised to know that she returned the feelings.

"Hey, aren't you supposed to be on my side?" Quilava asked his girlfriend. She shrugged.

"Just because I love you doesn't mean I can't tease you." She said. Even as I watched those two, I couldn't help but be reminded of one of May's Pokemon. I shook my head, clearing my mind of her. Fortunately, the two Johto starters were too busy arguing to notice.

"Hey, if you two want to flirt, go do it privately." I said, ending their argument. "Anyway, why did you come looking for me in the first place?"

"Oh, that! Well, Tracey said that Ash's coming back soon."

"Thanks for the news update. I knew that one day ago." I remarked. Quilava shook his head.

"There's more. May's also coming to visit."

It took every ounce of willpower in my body to not look shocked.

"Just thought you should know." The Volcano Pokemon added, before he and Bayleef began heading back to the lab. I just stared into space, unable to do anything else.

May was coming to visit. She probably was here to catch up with Ash, but that wasn't what troubled me.

It was the fact that her Pokemon would be with her. And, amongst them, the one whom I had loved and, even after that incident, probably still held a special place in my heart, even though I didn't act like it.

I hate fate. Period.

* * *

_Thanks for reading. Reviews are appreciated, but flames aren't. _


	2. Crossing Paths

**Disclaimer: I don't own Pokemon.**

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Chapter 2: **Crossing Paths**

_Venusaur's POV_

The ferry trip back to the Kanto region from New Bark Town was boring at best. Fortunately for us and for the ferry's dining crew, Munchlax got seasick. That glutton spent most of the trip in his Pokeball, which I had to admit was a relief. I was getting sick and tired of using my Vine Whips to drag him away from the food every time we were on a ship and the thoughts of dunking him into the sea were starting to get more and more appealing.

Blaziken stepped off the gangplank behind me, even as we disembarked from the ship. After almost an hour of convincing, May had finally agreed to let us stay out of our Pokeballs, provided we didn't cause any trouble. Blaziken, however, had nearly broken that agreement when another trainer's Charmelon tried to flirt with her. Since she was in a good mood that day, she only gave him a black eye and tossed him into the nearby pool, instead of breaking his arm and tossing him into the sea.

"Alright! Let's head to Pallet Town!" May shouted. I shot Blaziken a look, who shrugged in reply. Having just arrived in Kanto's Vermillion City, we had no idea which way to go. Hopefully, May would ask for directions, and we could be on our way without any incidents whatsoever. Unfortunately, the Hoenn native simply grabbed a map from a nearby stall, paid for it and began walking in a random direction even as she tried to figure out the best way to get there. I sighed, knowing that we were in trouble.

"Are you sure we shouldn't do anything about this?" I asked Blaziken. She shrugged again, but May began to speak before the Fire-type Hoenn Starter could reply.

"Alright! If we go through the Diglett Cave and then the Viridian Forest, we should be able to reach Pallet in about a day or so!" She shouted, startling a few passer-bys. May turned her head to look at all of us, ignoring the looks she received. "Anyone has anything to say about this?"

All of us shot each other glances, before shrugging.

"Great! Let's go!" May said. I sighed, as did the rest of May's Pokemon. The day that she would lead us to Pallet Town without getting us lost would be the same day that Ash's Charizard stops Flamethrowering him for greetings.

* * *

_Blaziken's POV_

I paused to get a bit of dirt off my shoulder before catching up with the rest. I didn't mind underground caves, but Wartortle simply detested them. She preferred to be above ground with all the flowers and stuff rather than in a place like this, and her frustration was clearly showing as she blasted a Diglett that had the bad fortune to poke its head out from under the ground in front of her with a Hydro Pump.

"I hate caves." She snarled. I sighed, before smacking another Diglett that had poked its head from the wall beside me. Seriously, those things were getting annoying.

"Almost there! Just a few hundred more meters to go!" May's optimistic voice echoed down the cave. How that girl manages to keep positive in situations like this was beyond me.

"So, what are you guys going to do when you reach Pallet?" Glaceon asked, trying to lighten the mood.

"I'd bet you're going to flirt with Pikachu." Wartortle remarked, even as she Water Gunned another Diglett. Glaceon's blue fur bristled and her cheeks turned a light shade of pink.

"What?! Then you're going to hit on Squirtle!" Now it was Wartortle's turn to blush.

"That's not true!"

"Guys, cut it out." Venusaur tried to diffuse the argument before it got any worse. Glaceon and Wartortle stared at each other for a moment, before their gazes shifted to the fully-evolved Grass-type Kanto Starter.

"And what about you? Are you going to ask Bulbasaur out?" They both asked. Venusaur's jaw dropped and she nearly tripped.

"No!" She said, a little too quickly.

"Is _that_ so?"

"No! I mean, yes! No! Arceus, I hate this kind of conversations!" Venusaur shouted, clearly getting irritated.

"What about you, Blazi?" Glaceon asked. I shrugged.

"I'll decide when I get there."

"Are you going to- OW!" Wartortle's sentence was interrupted by a shout of pain as Munchlax, who was feeling good enough to be let out of his Pokeball, stomped on her foot. She punched him in annoyance. "What the hell was that for?!"

Munchlax rubbed his shoulder, before whispering something under his breath. I couldn't tell what he said, but Wartortle seemed to have heard it as her eyes widened slightly.

"Am I going to what?" I asked.

"Uh, um, battle?" Wartortle said nervously.

"Depends on who my opponent is." Although I found her sudden change of attitude weird, I ignored it.

"We've reached the exit, guys!" May called. She pointed to a hole in the wall, which had daylight streaming though it.

"About time." Wartortle commented, even though May could not understand it.

"That's new. May didn't get us lost for once." Glaceon remarked.

"That's because the Diglett Cave is one straight cave, with no intersections or junctions." Wartortle pointed out.

"There's still the Viridian Forest to get through." I said, even as we emerged into the sunlight.

"This'll be easy! Just follow me!" May shouted.

"Arceus help us." I muttered a quick prayer under my breath even as we began heading towards the forest, which wasn't very far away.

Apparently, Arceus was either taking the day off or in a very bad mood, because within minutes of entering the forest, we were hopelessly lost.

* * *

"We're walking around in circles." I said to Venusaur.

"And how do you know that, Blaziken?"

"There's petals from the flowers Wartortle's been picking and plucking on the ground, we've passed that sign three times and that tree over there is the same one that I kicked earlier." I said. "I knew something like this was going to happen…"

"So, what do we do now?"

"I don't know." Venusaur slammed her head into a tree in frustration.

"Guys! Did you hear that?" Glaceon asked.

"Venusaur slamming into that tree? Of course!" Wartortle said.

"Not that! That buzzing sound!" The Fresh Snow Pokemon said urgently.

"Buzzing sound?" Now that she'd mentioned it, there was a low buzzing sound in the area.

"That can only mean one thing…" Munchlax muttered. Apparently, May had also heard the buzzing sound, as she'd stopped in her tracks and was glancing from bush to bush.

Almost as though Arceus was hell-bent on making our lives a living hell, three Beedrill emerged from behind the tree that Venusaur slammed her head into, their wings keeping them in the air and also making the buzzing sound that we all heard.

"_Aw, crap…_"

"RUN!" With that, everyone began sprinting away from the three Twin Needle Pokemon.

* * *

_Sceptile's POV_

"Please?"

"No." I flatly replied.

"Please?"

"No."

"Please???"

"Nope." The kid was starting to get on my nerves. I mean, Torchics are quite cuddly-looking and all, but this particular one was a bit stubborn and headstrong for his own good.

"Aw, come on! _Please_??"

In response, I ignited the Leaf Blades on my right hand and swung it down in a smooth arc, embedding them into the ground just inches away from the Fire-type Hoenn starter.

"That was so cool!"

"I missed." I calmly stated.

The young starter gulped. I jerked my right hand upwards, pulling the blades free from the soil, before the emerald-green leaves faded back to their original dark green.

"You're supposed to look after kids, not slice them in half, Sceptile!" Scyther called. I sighed, before plucking the Oran Berry from the branch that was just within my reach.

"Don't get too used to this." I remarked, even as I tossed the berry to him. Even as he started eating, I jumped back into the tree and began heading back to the lab via the jungle highway.

Leaping down from the last branch, I landed in front of the Mantis Pokemon.

"I gave the kid the berry he wanted. Happy?"

Scyther sighed. "You've really got to treat the younger ones more gently."

I shrugged. If not for the old mantis' near-supernatural fighting abilities, I wouldn't be listening to his words.

"Whatever."

"Oh, and one of the other Scythers was looking for you. Said something about a duel."

"I'll take that as a challenge." I grinned. "About time, if you ask me."

"Don't get overconfident. If you can't defeat your pride, you won't be able to defeat anyone."

"I know." With that, I began heading toward one of the open fields where everyone usually battled, either to settle differences or simply to spar. It was probably the only thing that made the boring life here slightly more interesting.

"So, you're that Sceptile who belongs to the new Sinnoh champion?"

I jumped over the fence and turned to face the speaker. Even as I looked at him, I could tell that he was no beginner as his claws had many small nicks on them, the scars that each battle left.

"So, you're that Scyther who challenged me?"

"That would be me." He crouched slightly, readying his claws. I crossed my hands in front of my face, igniting the Leaf Blades on my forearms.

"Duel."

For a Scyther, this guy was pretty quick, and I actually had to react quickly to parry his first strike. I grinned, even as I shifted my weight onto my other foot. Maybe this fight would be interesting, for once.

He broke the blade-lock, before slashing again. I crouched to dodge the swing, before blocking his scythes even as he changed the direction of the attack mid-swing. I leapt backward, landing in a half-crouch even as I fired a barrage of Bullet Seeds at him. My opponent deflected a few, dodged the rest, before sending several Air Slashes at me from his position. I parried the first, dodged the second and third and leapt over the fourth, but the fifth nicked my left shoulder. I grunted even as my feet hit the soil, but the Scyther had already begun advancing. It seemed to me like there were afterimages of him, but I knew those were illusions created by the speed at which he was moving. I held my position even as he lunged at me, sidestepping the attack at the last moment and smashing my tail into his side. The Mantis Pokemon crashed into the ground, winded.

"I'd bet that Sceptile's gonna win!"

"Nah, I think that Scyther's got a decent chance." The other Pokemon at the fields had gathered around the field that we were using and were watching our duel. The Scyther got to his feet and within moments I found myself blocking his latest series of slashes and stabs.

* * *

_Blaziken's POV_

"That… was… close…" May spoke while trying to catch her breath. The trio of Beedrill eventually became a swarm, and we had to sprint all the way to Viridian City before they gave up.

"Veno, if you want to slam your head into a tree, can you first make sure there aren't any Beedrill in it?" Wartortle asked.

"Sorry."

"Let's get going, guys!" May suddenly shouted, putting an end to that conversation. "Pallet Town's just past this route!"

"She's, um, very excited." Glaceon commented.

"Must be the thought of seeing Ash again." Wartortle said. The others shrugged, even as we followed our trainer through Route 1.

"We're here at last!" May shouted. I swore that the entire town could hear that. Professor Oak's lab didn't seem to have changed in the time that had passed since I was last here. It was almost as though this place alone was frozen in time.

"Hey, do you hear that?"

"What is it now, Glaceon?" I asked.

"It sounds like someone's dueling at the fields."

For some reason, I decided to go check it out, and was in the midst of running towards the field in question when I heard a 'boom'. Looking in the direction of the sound, I spotted a Scyther, his forearm scythes crossed in front of him for protection. There was a lot of smoke in front of him, which probably meant that he'd just taken a hit from a Hyper Beam or a similar long-range projectile attack. There was a second 'thump', before the Mantis Pokemon was sent flying back, smashing through the fence and landing in a heap in front of me. Even as the smoke cleared, I caught sight of someone whom I had hoped not to meet, at least not until I felt I was ready to.

* * *

_Sceptile's POV_

There was only one other problem with Solarbeam, other than the charge-up time. The recoil of the shot could throw you off your feet if you weren't ready. However, experience had taught me various ways to use this to my advantage, and as such I didn't bother keeping the recoil from sending me flying. I flipped backward in mid-air, before using my legs to push myself off the fence and towards my opponent. He didn't see me through the smoke, and was unable to block my kick in time. I landed in a crouch and looked up, noticing that he'd smashed through the fence on the other side of the field.

"Tracey's not going to be happy." I muttered to myself, before I caught sight of a very familiar figure standing near the fallen Scyther. I straightened, before looking at her in the eyes.

She met my gaze evenly.

* * *


	3. Conflict

**Disclaimer: I am not the owner of Pokemon.**

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Chapter 3:** Conflict**

_Glaceon's POV_

Perfect.

I halted, turning to face the fields from which I had heard the sounds of fighting coming from. I spotted Blaziken, but before I could demand an explanation from her for running off like that, I noticed that she was looking at something.

Or rather, someone.

Sceptile straightened, staring right back at Blaziken. The atmosphere there was so tense that the Scyther that Sceptile knocked out earlier could have sliced through it with his scythes. Even as my gaze shifted from Sceptile to Blaziken and back to Sceptile again, the fully-evolved Grass-Type Hoenn Starter raised his right hand in front of his face while lowering his left hand to waist-level. His right hand became a fist, even as the Leaf Blades on his forearms ignited.

"A perfect word for this situation would be 'crap'." Wartortle, who had somehow followed me without me noticing, muttered. Without so much as a whisper, Sceptile had just challenged Blaziken to a battle.

* * *

_Blaziken's POV_

Great.

I'd expected to meet him again when I knew that we were coming back here, but I didn't expect it to be so soon. And worse still, he wants to fight. Great.

I sighed. _So be it._

I walked around the Scyther, stopping when I was about ten steps away from Sceptile. He hadn't changed much in the past year or so on the outside, but I was sure that he'd probably learned some new attacks. However, I also had a few tricks up my sleeve that worked well in both Contest Battles and regular ones.

I took a breath, before raising my hands high. Even as I brought them down, I ignited my wrists, leaving behind a trail of sparks and sending a blast of heat outward. That wouldn't cause any major damage, but it definitely helped to unsettle my opponent.

Sceptile, however, didn't even flinch. I inhaled, before launching a Flamethrower at him.

There was no going back now.

* * *

_Sceptile's POV_

I dived to one side even as she fired her Flamethrower attack. I rolled into a crouch, before returning fire with a Bullet Seed. She blocked it by crossing her hands in front of her face, and I charged, taking the opportunity to slam my body into her, throwing the two of us off our feet. Both of us rolled, separating from each other in the process, before the two of us stopped in a half-crouch. I lunged at her, but she leapt over my Leaf Blades while turning in mid-air, firing another Flamethrower at me. There was no time to evade it, so I crossed my arms in front of my face for protection as the flames hit. I could feel blisters forming on my forearms, but I ignored the pain and began to move forward.

However, to my surprise, the flames suddenly stopped. I glanced around, but only when I looked skyward did I see Blaziken. She was in the air and was descending, apparently about to use her Blaze Kick attack. I leapt into the air, intending to meet her foot with my Leaf Blades, but two more Blazikens seemed to materialize from thin air. I knew she was using Double Team, and swung my Leaf Blades at the one on the left. However, it passed through thin air and before I could bring my blades around to intersect the other two, her foot crashed into my chest and I smashed into the ground.

* * *

_Blaziken's POV_

Sceptile smashed into the ground a few seconds before I landed. I felt a slight twinge of pity for him, but pushed those thoughts out of my mind. Even as the smoke cleared, I spotted him again. Sceptile got to his feet, and re-ignited the Leaf Blades on his forearms. This time, however, his entire body was surrounded by a green aura.

That could only have meant one thing. Overgrowth had kicked in.

I clenched my fists again, waiting for his next move. He didn't waste any time, charging straight at me with both Leaf Blades crossed. I didn't bother to figure out whether that was Leaf Blade or X-Scissor, but it was an attack nonetheless, and I fired a Flamethrower at him. However, he leapt over it, twisted his body such that it was pointing down and fired a barrage of Bullet Seeds at me while airborne. Even as the pellets slammed into my body, Sceptile landed behind me. The pain of the Bullet Seeds hadn't faded when he launched an Energy Ball point-blank into my torso. There was no time to think about when he'd learned that, as the impact of the Grass-type move threw me back, causing me to smash into the unforgiving ground hard.

I groaned in pain, before getting to my feet unsteadily. I could feel every strained muscle in my body, but alongside that pain was something else. It felt like an inferno, burning away all my doubts and hesitations and giving me the power needed for me to go on. I re-ignited my wrists, determined to use the power boost Blaze gave me to the best of my abilities.

* * *

_Glaceon's POV_

"Those two are really serious, aren't they?" Munchlax asked.

"Yeah. It's hard to believe that they were once lovers." I replied. That reminded me of something Blaziken had told me about two years back, but I pushed it out of my mind. I had promised her not to tell anyone about it, at least not until she felt that she was ready. I knew that Professor Oak and Tracey probably knew about it, but I doubted that May knew since she never did bring anything like that up. Out of the corner of my eye, I spotted a Torchic watching the battle with interest. He looked oddly familiar, and I briefly wondered if he was who I thought he was.

I winced as the two collided again, Leaf Blade canceling out Fire Punch. If this kept up, both of them would probably collapse from fatigue. Both combatants must have known that they were reaching their limits, as they didn't charge at each other again like they had been doing for the past two minutes. Instead, the yellow orbs on Sceptile's back had begun to glow white, even as they began to absorb tiny white particles, which I assumed was sunlight. Blaziken's yellow fur was now a light shade of orange and the dark-red sections were now a brilliant crimson.

"Here we go again. History repeats itself." Munchlax muttered.

The two fully-evolved Hoenn Starters fired their long-range beam-projectile attacks, Solarbeam and Overheat respectively. Like the Teracotta Contest, both beams slammed into each other, causing an explosion as well as a lot of smoke. When it finally cleared, both Sceptile and Blaziken were still standing. For a moment, it looked like that the fight was going to continue.

Simultaneously, both Blaziken and Sceptile lowered their hands, the Leaf Blades on Sceptile's forearms returning to normal even as the flames on Blaziken's wrists faded away. Without even whispering a word to each other, both fully-evolved Hoenn Starters walked away from each other, Blaziken heading in my general direction while Sceptile headed back into the woods.

"Why'd you stop? You're not the type to walk away from a battle!" I blurted out even as she walked passed me. Blaziken halted, and for a moment I thought she was going to scream at me.

"I'm tired." She muttered, catching us all off-guard. "I'm sick and tired of fighting him. Ever since that day, all we've done is fight and fight, or just simply ignore one another. I'm sick and tired of it all."

It may have been a trick of the light, but I thought I saw a tear at the corner of her left eye. In all the time we've been with May, I've only saw her cry once before, and that was when Sceptile broke up with her.

"Hey, guys! What'd I miss?" May asked. She seemed to have noticed Blaziken's grime-soaked feathers, as brown on yellow and red was pretty hard not to miss.

* * *

_Sceptile's POV_

I grimaced even as I leaned against a tree, panting. I hadn't walked too deep into the woods, but just enough to be out of sight from anyone in the fields. With no one except the trees and the wind for company, I finally had some time to just simply think about things.

_Blaziken_.

Damn. For some reason, she kept popping into my mind. I clenched my left hand into a fist, shaking my head to clear my thoughts. Even then, I couldn't help but think of how cold I treated her, even after all that had happened in the past two years or so. Perhaps, I should just let bygones be bygones…

_No_.

I noticed that the right edge of my vision was getting blurry. Even as I reached up and wiped away the tear that had formed at the edge of my right eye, I shook my head again, dispelling all thoughts of her.

_I'd swore that I'll never cry again. And I won't let anyone break my heart ever again._

"Sceptile! Ash just came back!"

I wiped my eye quickly, before turning to face the speaker. "Is that so?"

"Yeah." Quilava replied. "Hey, you really should just forgive her already. I don't know much about what happened between you and her, but it's time you let her go."

I simply walked past the Volcano Pokemon, not bothering to reply.

"Hey! Don't just ignore-"

_Thump._

The branch that I had sliced with my Leaf Blades as I walked past it slammed into the ground inches from him.

"-me." Quilava muttered something under his breath even as he leapt over the fallen branch and followed me back.

* * *


	4. Discussions

_Nothing to say, except thanks to all reviewers, and especially Pokefan30648 for reminding me about the Eevee/GlaceonxPikachu pairing. Honestly, I forgot about that one. *nervous chuckle*_

**Disclaimer: I don't own Pokemon.**

* * *

Chapter 4: **Discussions**

_Blaziken's POV_

"You should have seen me out there! Nothing could've taken me down!" Grotle remarked as most of the Pokemon discussed the final few battles of the Sinnoh League.

"Yeah, until that Hitmonchan took you out with a single Sky Uppercut." Staraptor remarked. Everyone laughed, but Grotle's was more of a nervous chuckle than one of merriment.

"Hey, how's Pikachu doing? He took a few bad hits in that final battle." Ash's, formerly Paul's, Monferno asked.

"Well enough to be stopping a fight between those two frosty ladies." I said, pointing with one hand to a tree, where Glaceon and Buneary were busy staring daggers at each other.

"If you've got two girls fighting over you, you're either really unlucky or lucky." Sudowoodo remarked. "What Brock would give to have girls chasing after him…"

"Fortunately, we have Crogaunk." Buizel pointed out, referring to the Poison Frog Pokemon whose personal mission was to ensure that the said breeder stayed unattached.

"BACK OFF! HE'S MINE!"

"I MET HIM FIRST, FLUFFY!"

"SO WHAT, LAZE-EON!"

"Calm down, the two of you!" Pikachu shouted. Beside him, Piplup was trying her best to ensure that the two didn't come to blows, Ice-Type or otherwise.

"The truth is, I like someone already!"

"REALLY? WHO?!" Both Glaceon and Buneary exclaimed simultaneously.

"Her." Pikachu gave Piplup a quick kiss on the cheek, before dragging the Penguin Pokemon away.

Everyone stared. I shivered as the wind decided to blow through the fields behind Professor Oak's lab, ignoring the whistling sound it made.

"That was unexpected." Quilava remarked.

* * *

_Sceptile's POV_

"Thanks for posing as my girlfriend, Piplup." I heard Pikachu say.

"Yeah, no problem. Besides, that'll probably keep Buneary focused on Contests. You'd better uphold your end of the deal, otherwise I'll tell them both the truth."

"Don't worry, I'll keep the fact that you and Kenny's Prinplup are seeing each other a secret." The Electric Mouse Pokemon replied.

"I can hear you both, you know." I called, wanting to see their reactions. As expected, the duo nearly jumped into the air.

"What the hell are you doing stalking us, Sceptile?!" Pikachu hissed.

"One, I was here the whole evening. You two just walked here, so get that straight. And two, I have no interest whatsoever in your little 'love triangle', so I'm not going to tell anyone about what I just heard."

_As if. If the price was right, then I suppose a _little_ slip of my tongue wouldn't hurt_, I thought to myself.

"You'd better not!" Both the Penguin and the Electric Mouse Pokemon said. "Otherwise, we'll-"

"Type match-up, battle experience, and numbers don't guarantee victory in battle." I said.

Piplup opened her beak to reply, but Pikachu covered it with his paw. Even as she shoved his paw aside, he whispered something to her that I couldn't hear.

"So, how's your relationship with May's Blaziken?"

I nearly fell out of the tree on hearing that. _Pikachu, consider yourself lucky that you're a key part of Ash's team…_

"We've broken up."

"On speaking terms?"

"No."

"You should go talk to her."

"Get Darkrai to cause dreams and Cresselia to cause nightmares." For once, the stories that I heard from the tribe's elder growing up came in handy.

"Truth is, you still love her, even after all that's happened, don't you?" Pikachu asked.

I didn't respond.

"She still loves you, you know." Piplup added. "She'd talk about you the most every time everyone met back up to catch up with each other."

"That doesn't matter anymore. We've broken up, and I don't want to see or talk to her. End of story. Period." I said. "Just leave me alone."

Piplup looked as though she wanted to push the point, but Pikachu placed a paw on her shoulder and shook his head. I ignored the two as they left, trying to shove thoughts about Blaziken out of my mind.

I also ignored the tear that was forming at the corner of my left eye.

* * *

_Blaziken's POV_

"So, are you intending to ask Pidgeot out yet, Swellow?" I heard Quilava ask. Even though it was already quite late at night, most of the Pokemon were still wide awake. I couldn't say the same for our trainers, though. They most probably were fast asleep, dreaming about Gym Badges or Contest Ribbons.

"What?! What makes you think I would want to do that?!" The Swallow Pokemon shouted, his face turning a slightly darker shade of red.

"Well, you spend more time with her than anyone else when she comes to visit every now and then, you once flew back with her to where her flock lives and Arceus-knows-what you two did there while you-"

"SHUT UP!"

"Speaking about love, Quilava," I said. "When did you become the resident love expert? Ever since you started dating Bayleef?"

"Wa-Wait a minute! We've only been going out for less than a month! Don't get any ideas!"

I raised an eyebrow. "Then why are you so flustered? It's common knowledge that you two are dating, right?"

"Well, yeah, but-"

"Then there's nothing to be embarrassed or ashamed about. After all, there's nothing wrong with wanting to be with the one you love." I said.

"And where did you get that from?" Quilava asked. Only then did I realize why that line sounded so familiar. Sceptile had said that to me once, a long time ago, and it was possible that he'd told other Pokemon the same thing.

"A friend." I quickly said, hoping he wouldn't push the subject.

"Would this friend of yours happen to be five-foot seven, green in color, loves to be alone, always with a twig in his mouth and have Leaf Blades on his forearms?"

_Thanks a lot, Arceus._

I kept silent.

"Great. You two are more alike than I thought."

"What do you mean?" Swellow asked, interested in where the conversation was going.

"They both gave me the silent treatment when I mentioned the other starter. Well, Sceptile's one came with a free branch that nearly dropped onto my head."

"He still hasn't change one bit over the years." Swellow remarked. I had to admit that the Swallow Pokemon was correct, even though I didn't say anything out loud.

"You know, Blaziken, he still loves you. A lot." Quilava said.

"What do you mean?" I asked, although my tone made it sound more like a demand than a question.

"Well, I hear him mutter your name every now and then in his sleep. He sometimes cries himself to sleep, though. Sceptile still hasn't completely gotten over, um, you know what I mean."

"He's not lying." Swellow added. "I've seen it myself, one or two times."

I paused, taking in both his and the Volcano Pokemon's words. Now, without the pressure of any upcoming Contests, I could think more freely. Come to think of it, Sceptile never did tell me exactly why he wanted to break up with me that day, and I never did get a chance to tell him what I had to say to him.

_But still, telling him now might now do any good._

_At least I'll get it off my chest. It's been bugging me for over two years._

Still, he had to know. He had the right to know. I stood up, startling the others.

"Where are you going, Blaziken?" Quilava asked.

"To do something I should have done a long time ago." With that, I began heading for the forests where I knew that a certain starter would be most at home.

* * *

_I know it's a bit short. It was meant to be a filler chapter._


	5. Revelations

**

* * *

**

Disclaimer: I don't own Pokemon.

* * *

Chapter 5: **Revelations**

_Sceptile's POV_

I pretty much hate the weather right about now. I was enjoying the night breeze, when someone had to go start a thunderstorm. Oh, how I hate the Legendaries right about now.

I made a _tsking_ sound, more out of annoyance than to anyone in particular. It wasn't particularly uncomfortable, but at least I wasn't getting soaked thanks to the protection of the tree that I was in. Knowing our trainers, they'd probably be sleeping by now, and thus the rain was more of an annoyance to them getting their much-needed rest. I wasn't too worried about the others, since they'd probably taken shelter by now inside the lab or something.

The slight rustle of fallen leaves caught my attention. I ignored it, assuming it was the wind, but it soon became clear to me that its rhythmic pattern was too artificial to be caused by something as natural as the wind.

Conclusion? Some joker was out here, and obviously not caring about the fact that he or she might get sick due to the rain. Either that, or he or she was searching for something, or someone. It would be logical to assume that it was one of the other Pokemon looking for me to get me out of the rain.

_As if a few drops of rain can take me down. I've faced Overheats, Aerial Aces, Brave Birds, Hyper Beams and even that Blast Burn. It'll take more than just a few droplets of water to take me out._

Still, it wouldn't hurt to play it safe, just in case it was a wild Pokemon that might be hostile. I shifted from my sitting position, trying to identify the direction from which the sound was coming from. Hearing sounds was one thing, finding out where they were from was another.

I turned my head to the right as I heard the rustling sound once again. It was much louder than before, which meant that the person or Pokemon was closer. I quickly considered the various options I had, which were basically either jumping the joker or staying hidden, before deciding on the latter.

The rustling sound began once again, this time even louder than before. A bolt of lightning split the night sky, and I caught sight of a bit of red and yellow in the grass, before it disappeared along with the temporary illumination.

* * *

_Blaziken's POV_

Did I ever mention how much I hate going out alone at night?

Sure, it definitely wasn't the first time I was out at night. But at least I had the knowledge that someone, whether it was Glaceon, Munchlax or even Skitty, was watching my back. Without that, however, it was taking a lot of effort for me not to let the fear rush in and take over. The last thing I wanted to do was to scream like a little girl and run out of the forest, only to discover the next day that I had been frightened by a Hoothoot or something. I'm no longer that timid Torchic I once was.

I glanced from tree to tree, searching for him. It felt like someone was watching me, but I shoved those thoughts out of my mind and tried to focus. It wasn't easy trying to find a Sceptile in the jungle, especially since his kind was specialists in jungle combat and near-impossible to spot in this kind of conditions.

Lightning briefly illuminated the night sky, but I ignored it. The weather could go to the Underworld for all I cared. I was going to find Sceptile, and I would make sure that I told him what needed to be told, even if I had to knock him into a semi-conscious state and yell it in his ear.

The feeling of someone watching me didn't seem to vanish, no matter how hard I tried to put it out of my mind. It was almost as though someone was _really _watching me.

I stopped, mentally smacking myself. Knowing Sceptile, he'd probably spotted already and just didn't want to talk to me. If he didn't want to come out and talk face-to-face, that was fine with me. I'd simply go to him instead.

Rather than searching for my target on the ground, I looked at the trees' low branches instead. Another bolt of lightning split the sky, briefly illuminating the area once more and saving me the trouble of looking for him.

Kicking up a nearby fallen branch with my left foot, I spun and smashed my right leg into it, sending it flying towards a spot in the tree branches. As I expected, a green crescent ignited itself and sliced the oncoming projectile, the halves of the branch slamming into the damp soil with a _thud_.

"I don't want to fight you, Sceptile."

There was a slight rustling of leaves, and a soft thud as something landed on the ground.

"Sure didn't look that way." The Forest Pokemon emerged from the shadows of the tree. "What do you want?"

"I just want to talk." I started. Sceptile leaned against the tree, crossing his arms across his chest.

"There's nothing for you and me to talk about."

I felt a slight twinge of annoyance.

"Would you just hear me out?"

"Not interested." He snapped, turning away from me. Finally, my patience snapped.

"What's your problem?! I just want to talk, and you're treating me like I'm some sort of freak!"

Sceptile turned back to face me, the anger on his face clear for all to see.

* * *

_Sceptile's POV_

"What's your problem?! I just want to talk, and you're treating me like I'm some sort of freak!" Blaziken shouted at me. I clenched my fist, resisted the urge to slam it into the bark of the innocent tree, before turning back around to face her.

"What's _your_ problem?! Seriously, do you think I would want to talk to you after everything that's happened, especially after you _cheated _on me?! Do you?!" I shouted. All the emotions that I had been keeping bottled up inside of me began to rush out, as though someone had opened a bottle and held it upside-down.

"I didn't cheat on you, Sceptile!" She shouted back at me. She wasn't under the tree and thus the rain continued to soak her feathers, water dripping down the sides of her face like tears. I felt the instinctive urge to just reach out and wipe them away with my hand, but shook that thought out of my mind.

I made the _tsking _sound again. _As if I'd believe that_.

"Do you seriously think for one single second that I'd believe that?!"

"It's the freaking truth!" She shouted back.

"Then can you explain how you got pregnant?!" I roared. If she'd thought I didn't know about that, then she was sorely mistaken.

"You already knew..." Blaziken said in a softer voice. I snorted.

"Yes."

"I won't deny it. I was pregnant, Sceptile. But, it was with your child."

Another bolt of lightning split the sky. I gaped, unable to say anything for a moment.

"That's not possible. Your species and mine are not-"

"Compatible?" Blaziken interrupted. "That was my reaction as well. Anyway, the Prof said that that wasn't entirely the case."

"Even if that's true, we never-"

"Actually, we did. Once." Blaziken said slowly. "This might shock you, so don't faint on me."

* * *

_Before any of you remind me about the breeding trees, read the author's note in chapter 1. And this story will not have any M-rated stuff._


	6. Shadows of the Past

**Disclaimer: I don't own Pokemon.**

* * *

Chapter 6: **Shadows of the** **Past**

_Sceptile's POV_

The line between fact and fiction can be blurred sometimes, they say.

If someone told you something that you believed for years was the truth were not, you'd probably dismiss it as the other person lying. However, Blaziken wasn't the type to lie blatantly about this kind of stuff.

And, right now, I'm not sure who or what to believe in anymore. I want to believe in what I know, but then that wouldn't be completely right. Even though I don't want to, I have to listen to what Blaziken has to say.

It's the least I could do for her.

"Fine." I said. "I'll hear you out. Happy?"

"Not really. But, as I said before, don't faint on me."

"I have a feeling that I'm not going to like what I'm about to hear." I muttered. The rain had lessened somewhat, but the lightning hadn't as another jagged bolt split the sky.

"It depends on your perceptive. From the beginning?"

"The beginning."

* * *

_Flashback, 3__rd__ Person POV._

_Two years before, Pallet Town, fields behind Professor Oak's laboratory._

"Hey, Blaziken? Are you sure May's going to be alright? Dealing with losing in the finals is way harder than dealing with losing in the semi-finals, you know."

"I know that, Venusaur. Everyone's feeling down, but May can count on Ash to help her deal with the pain."

Venusaur nodded. "But what about you? Are _you _alright?"

"I'm fine. Don't worry about me." The Fire-Type starter said. "What about the others?"

"They're coping, I think."

"Can you go make sure they're all alright?" Blaziken asked. Although the Kanto starter Pokemon felt that it was a strange request, but said nothing about it and headed towards where the rest of May's Pokemon were gathered. Blaziken sighed, before turning in the opposite direction, looking towards a group of trees.

"I hope he's alright…" She muttered to herself. Glancing around to make sure no one was watching her, lest rumors that she hoped wouldn't surface would start spread, she began heading towards one tree in particular.

* * *

"Sceptile! Hey, Sceptile!"

The Forest Pokemon looked down, spotting the Pokemon who was calling his name.

"What is it?"

"I just wanted to check on you." She replied. Sceptile jumped down from the branch he was sitting on, landing on the ground with a barely-audible _thud_.

"Thanks for the concern, but I'm fine."

"You always needed someone to talk to whenever you said that line."

"You always said that line whenever I said that." Sceptile replied. Blaziken didn't say anything in response to the Forest Pokemon's last statement, instead choosing to glare at him.

An uneasy silence fell.

"Fine. You win."

Blaziken blinked. "I didn't know we were competing in a silence contest."

"Very funny, Azi." Sceptile commented. He sat down underneath the tree, the Blaze Pokemon following a moment later.

"So, you want to talk about it?"

"Not exactly, but then you'll probably pester me about all the 'it'll make you feel better if you talk about it' crap until I do."

"You know me so well." Blaziken said. "So go ahead and talk."

The fully-evolved Grass-Type Hoenn starter Pokemon sighed. "I feel as though I've let Ash down."

"That's ridiculous. You did you best out there. No one could have defeated that Garchomp, especially after fighting two battles in a row."

"Yes, I know that!" Sceptile shouted, whilst standing up and taking a few steps forward. "Still, Ash calls me back to fight in one of the most important matches of his life, and all I did was screw it up!" Almost as quickly as his anger came, it faded away, leaving behind only disappointment. "I'm an utter failure…"

"You're only going to be an utter failure if you keep this up." Blaziken said. "You're tougher than this. You've never let any of your defeats bring you down. So why let this one be so different?"

"But-" Sceptile started to speak, before he felt Blaziken's body pressed against his back, even as she placed her hands on his shoulders. Despite the duo's constant traveling with their respective trainers, they managed to maintain a close relationship with one another.

"I saw that battle. You were already so worn out from fighting that Scizor and the Jolteon, I was actually thinking at some points of time that you were simply going to collapse due to fatigue rather than being knocked out by an attack."

Sceptile placed his right hand over Blaziken's left, as though to reassure her that he was fine.

"You can't blame yourself. You did your best out there, and I'm really proud that you're my boyfriend." The Blaze Pokemon said.

The Forest Pokemon turned around, before hugging her tightly. Blaziken was surprised for a moment, but returned the hug by shifting her hands from his shoulders to his back. The two soon found themselves looking into each other's eyes, before Blaziken leaned forward and kissed Sceptile full on the lips.

Only the trees, the wind and the moon would witness what the duo did next.

* * *

_Present time, Sceptile's POV_

I stared. Although I knew Blaziken wouldn't lie about things as serious as this, I found it quite hard to believe as I had completely no memories of what she just told me.

"If what you said is true, then why don't I have any memories of it?"

Blaziken paused. "Perhaps your depression that night caused your mind to block out the memories?"

I shook my head. "It doesn't matter anymore."

Blaziken shrugged.

* * *

_Blaziken's POV, flashback._

I opened my eyes, taking in my surroundings. From what I could see, I was on my back under a tree, and there was something across my chest. I shifted myself into a sitting position, with my back leaning against the tree and felt it slide off.

Glancing to my right, the slight drowsiness I associated with waking up too early in the morning immediately disappeared. Even as I realized that Sceptile was sleeping beside me, the memory of the previous night came back to me.

"_Crap. There's no way we would've…_" I thought to myself, suppressing the urge to scream. I got to my feet unsteadily and began walking back to the lab, but a wave of nausea washed over me, causing me to stop.

"_It's just the hangover. There's nothing to worry about._" I tried to reassure myself, but even now I wasn't so sure, especially since I remembered that the Professor once mentioned something about Pokemon whose breeding groups were incompatible being able to breed at a dramatically lowered survival rate or something like that. I wasn't exactly your model student when it came to things like that.

"Blaziken! Where the heck have you been? It's almost noon!" Venusaur shouted as she stomped up to me.

"What?"

"What do you mean, 'what'? We're supposed to be leaving soon!" She nearly screamed. "I don't have time to argue with you right now, Blaziken!"

Without warning, one of her vines wrapped around me and she jerked me into the air, before stomping off again, presumably towards where May was.

My curses and choices of 'colorful language' most likely woke up the entire Pallet Town. Venusaur didn't seem to care one bit.

* * *

_Present time, Sceptile's POV_

Great. Now, nearly everything makes sense. Hindsight is always useful, they say.

"Now," Blaziken said. Apparently, repeating everything from start to end was really emotionally draining. "I don't think you need me to say the rest…"

"No. I know it all too well…" I muttered. Guilt was already starting to consume me for not finding out the truth before breaking up with her. The rain had reduced to a light one by now, although Blaziken looked terrible from standing under it this whole time. She shivered, probably due to the cold, and I saw a tear roll down her cheek.

"_Damn it! Why did I have to be so rash and stupid?! Why can't things be simple for once?!_" I cursed myself mentally.

"Blaziken, I…"

"It doesn't matter anymore, does it? Nothing's going to change back to the way it was before." Tears were rolling down her cheeks freely, mixing with the rainwater that had soaked her to the skin. I gulped, unsure of what to do next.

"I..." I stepped out from under the protection the tree provided me from the rain and wrapped my hands around her, holding her close to my body for both warmth (which was ironic, since she was the Fire-Type, but who really cared? Not me.) and comfort.

"I'm sorry, Blaziken." I whispered to her, ignoring the icy sting of raindrops. "I'm so sorry."

* * *


	7. Happy Family

**Disclaimer: I don't own Pokemon, as always.**

* * *

Chapter 7: Happy Family

_Venusaur's POV_

"Where the heck are those two?! They've been missing for the entire night!" I hissed in frustration as I glanced around, trying to spot Blaziken or Sceptile. Not that I cared to _that _extent about those two, but because their trainers would probably lose it when they discovered that two of their most skilled and experienced Pokemon (and in May's case, her starter.) had vanished into thin air.

"Hey, Venusaur! Why are you acting so anxious?"

I swung around and stomped forward angrily, stopping a few steps away from Blaziken. I noticed that the two of them were slightly wet, and remembered that it had been raining the entire night yesterday.

"You go missing for one whole night, and then show up and ask why am I acting so anxious?!" I screamed.

The Blaze Pokemon blinked. "Oops?"

Before I could yell again, I was interrupted by a voice that still made my heart skip a few beats, even after so many years and the size difference.

"Guys! I'm so glad I found all of you!" Bulbasaur nearly ran into me. The Seed Pokemon sounded urgent and looked very nervous.

"What's going on?" I asked. Sceptile and Blaziken shot the Seed Pokemon questioning looks.

"Glaceon and Buneary are giving each other the cold treatment. Literally." He said, glancing over his shoulder. In the distance, two jagged sky-blue beams slammed into each other, exploding in a cloud of snow particles.

"YOU NEED TO COOL DOWN, FLUFFY!" Glaceon shouted. She slammed into Buneary, throwing the smaller Pokemon back. Both Pokemon rolled down the hill that Bulbasaur had just came down from, landing a few meters away from the three of us. In response, Buneary clipped the Fresh Snow Pokemon with a Dizzy Punch to the jaw.

"YOU'RE SEEING STARS!"

Glaceon retaliated with a point-blank Shadow Ball.

"LIGHTS OUT, LOSER!"

I sighed. Apparently, Pikachu getting attached to Piplup wasn't having the effect he wanted.

"How long have they been at it?" Blaziken asked.

"Uh, a couple of hours? It's already noon, if you haven't noticed." Bulbasaur remarked.

"Let them fight it out." Sceptile said.

"That makes sen- WHAT?!"

"That's how enemies become friends. They fight it out until there's nothing left to fight over, and then they decide to talk nicely. It works, most of the time."

Bulbasaur shot the Forest Pokemon a look that had 'Yeah, right.' written all over it.

"Okay, maybe sometimes it fails. Unless you've got a better plan…"

The Grass and Poison Type starter shrugged.

* * *

"Getting tired, Fluffy?"

"Not as tired as you, Haze-eon."

"MY NAME'S GLACEON! GL-ACE-EON!"

"Sure thing, Phase-eon."

"ARGH! TAKE THIS!"

I blinked. "That would make that the fiftieth Ice Beam she fired, no?"

"Wasn't it fourty-nine?" Blaziken asked.

"I thought it was fifty-one." Bulbasaur sighed. "Are you sure this'll work?"

"Not really. But if you want to stop them, be my guest."

As predictable as ever, Bulbasaur charged at the fighting females, trying to separate them with his vines. He was rewarded for his efforts by a joint Ice Beam from the duo, before they resumed their backyard brawl with a frozen Bulbasaur getting a front-row view.

* * *

"Had… enough… yet… Furball?"

"I'm… just… getting… started…"

Simultaneously, both Glaceon and Buneary collapsed, panting heavily.

"See, I told you it would work." Sceptile commented, stretching his arms.

"At what cost?" I muttered. The fully evolved Hoenn Grass-Type starter shrugged.

"That's what the Pokemon Center is for, no?"

"Hey, guys? A little help here…" Bulbasaur managed to mutter through chattering teeth. I smacked the ice surrounding him with my vines, freeing the Seed Pokemon from his prison of ice. He rubbed himself against the closest thing he could find for warmth, which was my side, and I could feel the blood rushing to my cheeks.

"Thanks."

"N-no problem." I quickly turned away to hide my blush.

"Hey, you two can take care of Pikachu's admirers, right?" Blaziken asked. Even as I nodded, she continued speaking.

"Good, because I promised the kid I'd teach him some moves. See you two later!" The Blaze Pokemon grabbed Sceptile by the forearm and dragged him off, even as I stared.

"Their relationship's improving. At least they're not at each other's throats anymore."

"No doubt." I replied.

* * *

_Sceptile's POV_

"What was that about?!" I struggled to control my anger as Blaziken dragged me off. Even though I could have, perhaps with a little difficulty, break free from her grip, a part of me wanted to find out who was the 'kid' she was referring to.

"I'm late. I already told you, I promised the kid I'd teach him some moves."

"Then why are you dragging me along?!"

"Because I think he needs a sparring partner. Try not to beat him up too badly, alright?"

"Whatever." I said. Whoever this 'kid' was, he or she must have made quite an impression on Blaziken. She rarely offered to help anyone in developing their combat skills. I began making a mental list of all the possible candidates, just to keep myself busy as the Blaze Pokemon dragged me along.

"Hey, I know you! What's he doing here?" The voice that shouted those words seemed awfully familiar. I examined the Combusken that stood before me, but he didn't seem familiar in the least to me.

"You evolved? That's good." Blaziken said. "You should recognize him. After all, you nearly cleaved him in two a few days ago, Sceptile."

"You're that Torchic?" I asked.

"Who else? That Scyther you fought?"

I felt a slight twinge of annoyance. If his tongue was as sharp as his combat skills, this would be one interesting fight.

"Oh, and something you should know, Sceptile." Blaziken said. "He's your son."

"WHAT?!" I heard him shout. I barely managed to keep the shock I felt in check.

"I'm his father? He's the one you told me about?" I asked.

"Yup." Blaziken replied. "That's probably the only reason why I've been training him every time I come back here. And you can finally put your skills to the test, Soldat."

So that was his name. Soldat.

"Just because he's my dad doesn't mean I have to hold back, right?" The Combusken asked.

"Even if I said yes, you probably wouldn't have cared." Blaziken replied. "Just try not to kill each other, alright?"

I shrugged, even as I ignited my Leaf Blades. This was probably going to be fun.

"The old man makes the first move."

I could have sworn that my eye twitched. Somehow, he managed to find a way to get on my nerves. And I thought an annoying, whining Torchic was bad enough…

No matter. I concentrated, summoning up an Energy Ball, before hurling it at him.

However, I found myself leaping to my right as the same Energy Ball flew back at me, whizzing past the spot where my chest had been. Soldat smirked, lowering his right leg.

"Not bad. Looks like those stories Mom told me were pretty accurate." He said, wedging his right claw into the ground like I remembered Blaziken did once when she was still a Combusken, and I expected him to run at me and swing the claw in an upward strike.

My guess was fifty-percent right. He _did_ swing the claw up, but the unusually long Shadow Claw he'd invoked when his claws were under the soil did the dirty work for him, hitting me from about five paces away and sending me flying.

"Hope you enjoyed that limited edition of Shadow Claw!" Soldat called even as I hit the ground hard.

* * *

_Venusaur's POV_

"Great. Another fight." I heard Bulbasaur mutter.

"You want me to go stop it for you?" I offered, almost a little too quickly.

"I appreciate the offer, Venusaur, but you don't have to do anything like that."

"You haven't recovered from the shock of the sudden change in body temperature when I broke you out of that ice."

"I know. But this is a fight that doesn't need stopping." I spotted Sceptile being tossed back by a Combusken, before realizing that there was something familiar about the fighting style that he was using.

"Could it be that that Combusken is Blaziken's…"

"It's very likely. Blaziken doesn't teach just anyone how to fight, you know." Bulbasaur said, even as I noticed that some other Pokemon had begun to watch the fight.

* * *

_Sceptile's POV_

I ducked underneath another one of Soldat's claws as it sliced the air above my head, before I realized that it was a feint when he spun and the back of his right foot slammed into my chin. There were even fights, and there were one-sided fights. This one was really leaning towards the latter, and that was not a good thing.

I leapt backwards even as an Ember attack slammed into the spot where I had been lying. A claw stabbed at my chest, but I leaned to one side to avoid it, grabbing his outstretched hand and tossing him over my shoulder at the same time. Just when I thought that I had managed to gain some ground, I felt myself being jerked off the ground as Soldat flipped me over _his _shoulder.

Rolling to absorb the shock, I fired a Bullet Seed at him. Even as he shrugged it off, I swung my tail around, slamming it into the side of his torso. The impact tossed him back, but the Combusken dug his claws into the ground, stopping himself before springing back at me with a Shadow Claw that I barely managed to deflect by using my Leaf Blades.

"Looks like Blaziken trained you well." I said, shoving his claw upwards with one of my Leaf Blades and swinging low with the other.

"Looks like you need more training, and perhaps a few bruises." Soldat blocked the low swing by slamming his elbow into my forearm, pinning my Leaf Blade down into the soil. Even before I could jerk it free, he landed three quick kicks to my unprotected left torso, before spinning around and backhanding me with the side of his left claw.

For what seemed like the hundredth time, I tasted soil and dirt in my mouth again. At the same time, everything seemed sharper to my eyes. I felt as though every single tree, every blade of grass and clump of dirt was lending me strength, and knew that Overgrow had kicked in.

Not wasting any time, I tossed an Energy Ball at him even as I leapt to my feet. Soldat sidestepped it easily, but that was what I had been expecting him to do. Even as it whizzed past him, I fired a Bullet Seed at it, the yellow pellets quickly hitting the Energy Ball and causing it to explode in his face. Not really damaging, but it disoriented him for a moment. And in battles, even the slightest moment can mean the difference between victory and defeat, whether you take a hit or land one on your opponent.

The blunt side of my Leaf Blade came into contact with the back of Soldat's left heel, forcing him to one knee even as he launched an Ember attack at the place where I had been. The orange bolts of flame flew past my torso, missing me by a couple of inches.

Even as I swung my Leaf Blades again, they were blocked by two red crescents of energy that originated from Soldat's claws.

"Looks like Mirror Movedoesn't imitate color." He remarked, before he slammed his body into me, forcing me back even despite the power advantage that Overgrowth gave.

* * *

_Blaziken's POV_

"Hey, Blaziken?"

I glanced over my shoulder at Quilava. "What is it?"

"Why does that Combusken Sceptile's fighting seem to be using moves that you would have used?"

"He's my son."

"And is Sceptile the father?" Glaceon asked as she came up from behind me. Her blue fur had patches of brown in it from her earlier 'squabble' with Buneary. "Is he…"

"Yes." I spotted the Volcano Pokemon gaping at me from out of the corner of my eye. "Don't worry. Other than you, only Glaceon and Sceptile know who he really is."

"But wouldn't a Pokemon born to parents whose egg groups don't match be quite widely known?"

"The Professor and Tracey feel that he should be able to choose how to live his life himself." Glaceon said.

"That would make sense." Quilava said. "How'd Sceptile take it?"

"Pretty well. At least he didn't go crazy." I replied.

"Are you sure that's your son's first battle?"

"If you mean sparring, yes. Why?" I asked, puzzled. Quilava cocked his head to one side.

"Because he's making Sceptile look like a newbie than an experienced fighter." I turned around, only to see Soldat leap over Sceptile's head as though the act was as easy as breathing for him. The Forest Pokemon's Leaf Blades sliced through the air where he had been a moment ago, and the Young Fowl Pokemon charged at Sceptile even as he turned. Just before reaching his target, however, Soldat stabbed his left claw into the ground, lifting his body and straightening it such that he looked like he was doing a handstand with one hand, but pulled his claw out of the soil at the apex of the move. The momentum sent him into the air, before he landed behind Sceptile and swung a Shadow Claw around, just as Sceptile whirled around with his Leaf Blades.

Both attacks stopped inches away from their targets' necks.

"At least they remembered that this was a sparring match, not a real battle." Quilava remarked, even as both combatants lowered their hands.

"That was fun. See you around, old man!" Soldat called, before he headed back into the woods. I could have sworn I saw Sceptile's eye twitch in annoyance, even from this range.

"Well, it's clear who he inherited the love of battling from. Although that sharp tongue seems to be unique to him…" The Volcano Pokemon pondered. Sceptile's Leaf Blades faded away, leaving only the leaves on his forearms as he walked towards me.

"I think you trained him a bit too well." The Forest Pokemon remarked.

"Looks like he deflated your ego." I chuckled.

"I didn't have one in the first place. And you really should teach him respect." Sceptile winced as he put a hand to his lower jaw. "At least we all know who to go to if we want our teeth knocked out…"

"Or if we have sleeping problems. One kick and the problem's solved." Glaecon added.

"Except for the small detail that you wake up the next day with a headache." Quilava pointed out. "Why did you have Sceptile of all Pokemon fight him?"

"There's no better way to get acquainted than through battle." I replied.

* * *


End file.
